'Customers will get compensation' say South West Water after three days of disruption
The water firms says supplies across Plymouth have now been restored
Last updated 23rd Apr 2025
Businesses in and around Plymouth are still waiting to find out how much compensation they'll get - as water supplies are finally restored across the city.
For some it's been three days without water and some schools are once again closed today as a result of the ongoing problems.
South West Water has apologised to all those affected and set up bottled water collection points which will remain open until 10pm tonight.
A spokesperson for the water firm said: "We are pleased to say that customers should now be back in supply. We want to apologise again for the inconvenience this has caused, but we would also like to thank all of our customers for their patience and kindness to our teams on the ground providing bottled water.
The water firm compensation is now autiomatically being credited to affected customers - believed to be around £200 and it has also issued advice to those whose supplies have now been restored saying: "Discolouration is normal following repairs to our network and should clear after running your cold kitchen tap. If water comes out looking milky that is air in the system.
"It’s common for air to become trapped in the supply or within the internal plumbing. If customers are still experiencing no water, then we advise to follow simple steps to check for airlocks. To do this, turn the internal stop tap on and off three times to release any air whilst the cold kitchen tap is open. Customers should also check that their external stop tap is open if it is safe to do so.
"Every part of our water network is back in operation. It can take time for water to flow throughout the network due to topography and increasing demand, but we are monitoring our systems carefully and can confirm water is flowing throughout the network."
South West Water say water will continue to be delivered to the most vulnerable until 10pm tonight
Fred Thomas, Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View, said in a series of posts on X that all water supply would return "first thing" on Wednesday morning.
He said he had spoken to SWW chief executive Susan Davy and "demanded a clear timeline" on the efforts to restore the water, and was told the pipe was now fixed.
Mr Thomas said: "I demanded a fair compensation package for residents and business. Susan tells me SWW will put £200 credit into the account of all household customers. Businesses will have bespoke compensation packages to be determined. Any businesses are welcome to email me for support with that."
The MP added he would continue to monitor the situation as he aimed to "hold the big companies to account" for his constituents.